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Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Full summary » | Full synopsis »

I enjoyed this movie immensely. But, like "The Phantom Menace," I've had a
very hard time viewing it objectively. There was so much anticipation
leading up to its release, I simply enjoyed the experience of being there.
Having read all four books in the series a few times each, I am overly
familiar with the events in the story. As I watched the movie, my
continuing
thought was "How well will the next part of the story be translated to the
screen?" rather than "How entertaining is this film overall?" I have
trouble
answering the latter question because I was already entertained by
watching
a wonderful story dramatized, so I'll never know how I'd have reacted had
I
seen this movie without having read the books.

Critics talk about how incredibly faithful the movie is to the book, and
perhaps I'd have had an easier time detaching the two in my mind had the
movie set off on its own course. Indeed, many classic children's movies,
like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Mary Poppins," are so successful partly
because
they're so different from the books that inspired them. But these are
exceptions; in my experience, most children's movies reveal their
weaknesses
in how they diverge from the books upon which they're based. And much of
what makes the Harry Potter phenomenon unique is that it is the first time
in ages that a children's book, without a movie accompanying it, has
generated this much popularity. According to an article I read a year ago,
the universe of Harry Potter has become as real in the minds of youngsters
and adults as that of a popular movie series like Star Wars. Therefore, it
will be very hard for any film based upon it to compete with it. In the
minds of die-hard fans, any changes made to the story will be seen as
desecrating the fantasy world that Rowling created. That's why it's easy
to
understand why the filmmakers were so reluctant to change
anything.

As a faithful rendering of the book squeezed into a two-and-a-half hour
period, the movie is beautifully done. I don't have a single complaint
about
any of the actors, who successfully bring to life, with the aid of costume
design and special effects, the many colorful characters from the book. My
favorite character, the giant Hagrid, is played by Robbie Coltrane, and I
say with no exaggeration that he is exactly how I imagined him while
reading
the book. It's as if they took the image in my mind and transferred it to
the screen. While I had my own personal image of Snape (for some reason, I
always imagined him as the head villain from another Chris Columbus film,
"Adventures in Babysitting"), Alan Rickman is perfect in the role. I
usually
expect to have words of criticism for some performances, but I just don't.
The remaining adult actors, including Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall
and Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore, are as good as they possibly could
be, and the kids do an excellent job of holding their own against these
veterans. Some have criticized Daniel Radcliffe for appearing too subdued
in
the title role, but that's exactly how the character is portrayed in the
book: modest, unassuming, and laid-back. The kids who play Harry's two
best
friends are flawless.

I had a lot of worries about the fact that it was being directed by Chris
Columbus, whose entire directorial career so far has consisted of
over-the-top slapstick films. I was pleasantly surprised that he did not
direct the Harry Potter film in this way. Except for brief moments like
the
children's delayed reaction to a giant three-headed dog they encounter and
Harry's swallowing the quaffle ball, there is nothing here to remind us
that
this film is directed by the same person who gave us films like "Home
Alone"
and "Mrs. Doubtfire." Indeed, I think Columbus may have gone just a tad
bit
too far in trying not to make the film seem cartoony. I would have liked
to
see a little more emotion on the actors' faces at certain times. Overall,
however, his restraint works nicely in giving the film the kind of
believability the book possesses.

But much is left out. Harry's caretaker Uncle Vernon, a prominent
character
in the book, is given less attention in the movie than some of the bit
characters. The gently satirical aspects of Hogwarts School aren't in the
movie at all. We never see the ghostly history teacher who died several
years back but kept on teaching. Lines like the following--"Professor
McGonagall watched [her students] turn a mouse into a snuffbox--points
were
given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had
whiskers"--find no equivalent in the movie. The movie does include
platform
nine-and-three-quarters, though the way the kids disappear into the wall
isn't as mysterious as I had visualized, and the sorting hat is there,
minus
the great poem explaining the differences between the four
schools.

Not that I'm blaming the movie for omitting some details. Some things from
the book would not have translated easily to the screen, and it would have
been very difficult to stick everything in. Had Columbus done so and
allowed
the film to be as long as necessary (eight hours, maybe?), like a BBC
miniseries, the film might have been a masterpiece, but few kids would
ever
have had the patience or attention span to sit through
it.

The problem is that the amusing details are much of what make Harry Potter
such a special story. A whole universe is created in Rowling's series, in
which a magical society exists within our own ordinary "muggle" world and
is
kept secret by a bureaucracy with its own rules, history and politics. The
way magic is treated in her books, not as something medieval but as very
similar to the way our own contemporary world works, is a large part of
their charm. Take away these details, and you're left with a fairly
conventional tale of a young wizard fighting an evil sorcerer.

Although the audience I was with broke into applause as soon as the movie
ended (something I've never seen happen before, though I don't go to the
theater that often), some people have complained about the movie dragging
at
certain points. I didn't have that problem, but, as I said, I wasn't
really
trying to get involved in the movie's story. After thinking about it, it
does seem like parts of the movie fail to convey a sense of urgency. Why
should this be? I never felt that way when reading the books, and this is
without a doubt the very same story.

The answer, I think, is that the books portray much of Harry's anxiety in
trying to succeed in school (for if he's kicked out, he'll go straight
back
to his horrible uncle) and fit in with the kids there. The movie doesn't
tap
into these anxieties enough, so why should we care whether he wins the
Quidditch match (other than that he survives in one piece) and gets
through
the school year? The only real suspense in the movie after he arrives at
Hogwarts comes from the story of Lord Voldemort returning, which in the
book
is almost secondary. Harry's adventures getting along in the school are
fun
and interesting, but as they are presented to us in the film, there isn't
enough tying them all together.

What we have here is a serviceable dramatization of a wonderful children's
series, but it doesn't entirely succeed in standing on its own. Perhaps it
should have diverged from the book just a little, to compensate for the
difficulties in translating some of the book's delights to the screen. In
its current form, it's almost like a preview of the book. Its lack of
fullness, and its dependence on the book, might actually increase the
popularity and endurance of Rowling's series by making those who see the
film yearn for more, which they can get from the real thing.

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